Pelagic working voyages interspersed with local patch and occasional twitch birding news

Monday, 7 October 2013

Autumnal gems

Back off to sea in a few days so just enough time to undertake a final twitch and intense birding session before bag packing and airport mayhem. First stop was the Frankfield loch in Stepps, Glasgow. I arrived at 08:40ish and having eventually found somewhere to park I walked the short distance to the loch and started working through the ducks. Some 10 minutes later I was on the drake blue-winged teal- a smashing duck looking much nicer than I had expected after its 'eclipse' phase. The white crescent was particularly neat and striking and the bird was feeding within a nice flock of teal and a few shoveler which provided good comparisons. A group of 12 snipe sat out in the open were also worthy of scoping as they jostled for a position on a length of semi-submerged planking.

Next stop, St. Abbs in the borders- I really wanted to see a potential lifer in the shape of the Sardinian warbler that had been frequenting the scrub at the north end of the Mire loch. I was not disappointed- after 2.5 hours of carefully watching the scrub, the bird eventually popped out allowing good views for 30 seconds or so- much to the obvious relief of the 20 or so birders that had been waiting - for the most part, very patiently. Of course as is the usual theme at any twitch these days some birders exhibited very little field craft sense- talking loudly, clattering tripods, walking in front of the gathered crowd etc. Probably best not to dwell on the bad manners of a few for too long! On the upside I met some really nice, pleasant birders at the site, who readily swapped info. and added to the overall enjoyment of the occasion.

Having enjoyed the incredibly handsome sard. I spent the rest of the time birding the area- a really nice site to look for migrants and I enjoyed a couple of yellow-browed warblers, a spotted flycatcher, two redstarts and a number of willow warblers and chiffchaffs. I saw a ybw fly briefly between the tops of the trees and in the strong sunlight I thought I had a glimpse of a yellow rump- I immediately thought of Pallas's warbler but I wasn't sure and could not relocate the bird so kept quiet about that-damn! I need a Pallas's too!

Following a night in b n b I headed off for the 300 mile drive back to Ullapool- a long drive but worth every mile. Time to pack my seabag..........

About Me

My formative birding years were spent primarily at CVL, Portland, Marazion and PG. I have lived in Mullion, St. Ives, Plymouth, Bristol and Aberdeen. I studied for a first degree in Plymouth and a masters in Aberdeen. Since the late nineties I have worked as a sea-going scientific observer/surveyor specialising in fisheries, seabirds and marine mammals. I've worked in many of the worlds' oceans from South Georgia to Greenland and from the Atlantic to the Indian ocean. In the south Atlantic I monitored albatross mortality within commercial fishing fleets and have also undertaken extensive seabird surveys off Greenland, in UK waters, the Med. and in the central Indian ocean. I am a JNCC ESAS certified seabird surveyor, JNCC certified marine mammal observer, certified CCAMLR scientific observer and a regional tuna fisheries observer.
I'm not a photographer! - just a birder who takes photo's as and when birds present themselves- my camera is often in 'auto' mode!
I enjoy the company and dialogue of birders, naturalists and people who love the sea- many of whom I have been fortunate to meet in the field.